News

The Courtauld to Collaborate on Conservation project with Georgia

9/01/2012

An image of Queen Tamar from Vardzia

Building on 15 years of collaboration with Georgian colleagues in training and other conservation activities, The Courtauld is now planning its first-ever conservation project in Georgia in partnership with the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia and the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts.

Starting in 2012, this project will be undertaken on wall paintings at the famous rock-cut monastery of Vardzia in southern Georgia. Dating from 1184-86, the paintings feature a wide range of subjects including an iconic image of Queen Tamar, and are of an extraordinary technical sophistication. But they are in alarming condition, and the delicate conservation process will be carried out over a period of four years.

The First Lady of Georgia, H.E. the Georgian Ambassador to the UK, and Katie Melua were among many distinguished supporters to attend a dinner at The Courtauld Gallery in November to celebrate the collaboration.

The Courtauld Institute of Art is a leading and global centre for the study of art history and conservation with a unique scope. As a college of the University of London it brings together exceptional teaching and research and an outstanding art collection and has an unmatched concentration of specialisms from antiquity to the present.

It has approximately 450 national and international students at any one time and The Courtauld’s over 5,000 alumni make an impact with many at the helm of major arts and educational institutions in the UK and worldwide. They include the directors of London’s National Gallery, Tate, and British Museum; New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Morgan Library and Museum; as well as leading figures in the commercial art world. The growing network of alumni also includes many teachers and curators at major universities and museums.